Onobiren (2026): A Celebration of Women, By Women, For Women

A heartwarming tale about determination, resilience, and womanhood. Onobiren (English: Woman) is a Nollywood drama that was released to cinemas across Nigeria on March 6^th, 2026 to celebrate the International Women’s Day. The film marks Laju Iren’s mainstream debut as a writer and was directed by Odion Iraoya. With a runtime of 1 hour, 52 minutes, it follows the journey of two women whose struggles bring them together and enable them to impact each other’s lives and that of others around them.

Premise

The film opens up with a television interview where Rowoli (AKA Roli), a highly decorated businesswoman, is asked about her come up story and how she became who she is today. Via her narration, we are taken to a flashback, about two decades ago in the remote fishing village of Batere, Warri, Delta State. Roli, a young girl with a fascination for fishing is doted on by her father who insists on taking her out to fish in deep waters, against traditional customs and superstition that only allows women to fish in shallow waters along the riverbank. Because of this, they are often stigmatized by the community, and especially looked down upon by Mama Dede, a condescending woman who has a monopoly of almost all the fishing boats in the village and rents them out in a hire purchase agreement that often leaves her customers in lifelong debt. Roli’s father, meek and soft hearted by nature, continues to defy customs and teaches Roli due to her genuine interest. This comes at the ire of his wife, Roli’s mother, who not only fears being cast out by the village for such defiance, but also has her own plans for Roli to become a doctor. Roli also frequently clashes with her older brother, Uti, who is not happy about a girl upstaging him. Unfortunately, Roli’s father soon succumbs to a sickness and passes away.

Years later, present day Roli narrates that Uti had taken over the fishing business while their mother sold everything she had to put Roli in nursing school. We are taken to another flashback, showing Roli as a nursing school student alongside her friends, and a medical student named Jolomi who harbors a crush on her. Roli’s mother visits her in panic and hysteria, and it is then revealed to us that Uti had developed acute renal failure, a kidney disease that had been progressing so aggressively that dialysis could only keep him alive for a few weeks without a transplant. Even though Roli’s mother is a perfect match who instantly volunteers to donate hers, the surgery itself would cost a whopping twenty million naira, alongside the weekly dialysis fees. Roli tries to take extra jobs to start raising money, but they can only go so far.

Meanwhile, in Lagos, we are introduced to married couple Temisan and Rebecca who, despite both being commercially successful, have been struggling for a child through the entirety of their marriage. Rebecca faces extra pressure from Temisan’s mother, who often berates and ridicules her for her seemingly inability to conceive. Back in Delta, Temisan’s father reprimands his wife for constantly humiliating Rebecca, and they are met with Roli, who took a cleaning job in their house. Through some small talk, Temisan’s father realizes that he is friends with Roli’s uncle. When asked about his wellbeing, Roli reveals that he has 13 kids now. Upon hearing this, Temisan’s mother takes a malicious interest, believing Roli’s bloodline to be incredibly ‘fertile’. She takes Roli under her wing and pays all of Uti’s current dialysis bills. She invites Roli and her mum to the house and reveals her plans: she intends to plant Roli as a housegirl for Temisan and Rebecca, through which Roli would seduce Temisan into impregnating her. She cites Temisan’s wealth and encourages that Roli takes over Rebecca’s place to access his resources for her brother. Mama Roli is outraged and angry, but Roli herself considers it. Mama Temisan gives her 24 hours to decide.

The next day, Roli is seen in the living room of Temisan’s house beside Mama Temisan, indicating that she had taken the offer anyway. Mama Temisan introduces her to the couple under the planned guise of being a new maid for them. The couple reluctantly decides to take her in. That night, Roli goes into Temisan’s room to seemingly begin her mission, but then she doesn’t do it, trying to explain to a shocked and outraged Temisan that she never planned to go through with it. She’d merely taken Mama Temisan’s offer as a ruse to seek job opportunities in Lagos with his help. But still in a state of anger, he kicks her out of the room. The next day, after Mama Temisan leaves for Warri, Roli tries once again to explain to Temisan, alongside Rebecca this time. Temisan is still angry and wants her to leave, but Rebecca sees the sincerity in Roli, and urges him to change his mind. He tries to insist, but Rebecca gives him a surprising ultimatum; if Roli leaves, then Mama Temisan must never step foot into their house again. Rebecca recalls that through the years of humiliation, Temisan never defended or stood up for her. It was that leeway that enabled Mama Temisan to attempt such a scheme in the first place, and that it was Roli’s noble heart that ensured its failure. Guilty, Temisan reluctantly agrees.

The rest of the film details Roli’s bumpy journey to where she is today, including unsuccessful job search attempts, an unconventional solution, the various rises and falls that came with that, but all through it, a powerful support system from the women around her, including Rebecca, who is vindicated by a possibility that had never been considered before.

Cast and Performances

Ruby Akubueze as Rowoli (Roli)
Bisola Aiyeola as Rebecca
Deyemi Okanlawon as Temisan
Patience Ozorkwo as Mama Temisan
Tanpe Aje as Mama Roli

I’m not going to lie guys; this movie was a test in ‘trusting the process’. I didn’t have much faith during its initial scenes because the acting performances seemed a bit weak, but I was quickly proven wrong.

First of all, two words; Mama. G.

One thing about Patience Ozorkwo, she will channel that ‘wicked mother-in-law’ trope with scarily accurate vigor. The first half of the movie was definitely carried by her. She kept all of us in that theatre interested in an otherwise somewhat slow plot. With her quips, wit, and seemingly bottomless pit of creative insults, Mama G was definitely in her zone with this, reminiscent of her work in old school Nollywood.

I also want to give props to the main actress. Due to her delicate voice, I was completely unsure whether she would be able to truly bear the weight of being center stage (especially with the voice over narration being sort of feeble). But color me pleasantly surprised, by the 40-minute mark, she had all of us in that theatre eating out of her palm. We cheered during her wins, expressed similar sadness and frustration during her losses, and expressed protective anger towards characters who didn’t mean well for her. She made us believe in Roli so much. I’m sorry I ever doubted you, Miss Ruby.

Bisola and Deyemi also deserve their flowers, both of them being extremely talented in their own right. However, I noticed that they didn’t have much on screen chemistry despite playing a married couple. It doesn’t take much away from their acting performances though, each of them still gave it their all individually, and I genuinely respect that.

What I Liked and Disliked

I attended the premier of this movie and was lucky enough to meet some of the cast members and Laju Iren herself. She described her process for this film as “wanting to detail the beauty of womanhood, even in its struggles”. And she definitely hit her mark. The story shows us the kind of pain that women face everyday in various aspects of life; the mother who has to hold her family together after becoming a widow, a girl developing a love for a predominantly male field and having to prove herself amidst the stigma, a young woman fighting in the chaotic melting pot of Lagos with her family’s hopes on her back, the successful woman who is made to feel like she will never be enough and that for some stupid reason, lack of children in her marriage completely eclipses all of her hard work and success. These are just a few of the many, many afflictions that arise with womanhood, especially in Nigeria. And we, just like these characters, somehow manage to overcome every. single. time., taking each day as it comes, drawing strength from each other, and the community of other women also fighting their own battles. This was truly a project for the girlies, because even the antagonists were women. It almost felt like the men were side characters (as it should be, we rarely ever get something just for us).

Regarding the technical aspects, this film gets full marks for cinematography, direction, and music composition. I loved the display of the riverine setting of the film, alongside real life fishing techniques such as net-making, I love that the film spotlights the Itsekiri tribe, as they are often neglected even in settings that should involve them. Overall, I can’t say there was a single part of the movie budget that was wasted. Props to production team.

Finally, at the risk of sounding petty, I will say that as much as love the ending of Rebecca’s story, being vindicated by the fact that their childlessness was Temisan’s shortcoming, not hers, and finally adopting a child (which is a completely valid way of acquiring a child), I almost wish that the writer kept her happy ending without children. Children are a gift, but not the end all, be all of a woman’s life. Many women can live (and have lived) amazingly fulfilling lives without kids. Rebecca is successful, and has a loving husband. Her existence shouldn’t be defined by whether or not she’s a mom and if it wasn’t made clear that she wanted that for herself and not just based on Mama Temisan’s pressure, I would’ve been very unsatisfied. So yes, this was an amazing message that women shouldn’t be the scapegoat to blame for childlessness, and that a child, no matter how gotten, is legitimate. But part of me wishes that we also got an overall message of ‘hey, how about we don’t police a woman’s life and value by the presence (or absence) of children in the first place?’

Oh well, baby steps.

Final Thoughts

This was a beautiful intertwining of stories that I can’t find much to even criticize. Admittedly, I am a bit biased (it’s a project meant to celebrate being a woman after all), but I can still acknowledge an amazing work that accomplished exactly what it set out to do.

I rate Onobiren (2026): 4 out of 5

Our Rating of This Movie

Happy International Women’s Day! Do you have any hot takes about this movie and its messaging? I’d love to read them below!

Author

Winifred Eze
Winnie is a business student by day and a writer by night, with a passion for movies and the art of storytelling. Whether it’s dissecting a film’s themes, exploring character arcs, or celebrating cinematic masterpieces, she loves diving deep into the magic of the big screen. She also strives to bring fresh perspectives and engaging discussions to fellow writers and readers.